Knife-holder and knife for cutting pile fabrics.



A. MORTON. KNIFE HOLDER AND KNIFE FOR CUTTING FILE FABRICS.

7 APPLICATION FILED IBB.24, 1910.

1,055,348, Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0., WAS NNNNNNNNNNN c4 A. MORTON. KNIFE HOLDER AND KNIFE FOR CUTTING PILE PABRIOS.

APPLICATION FILED T11R24, 1910.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

2 SHBBTB-SHEBT 2.

m N m v 0, m W Y B M Am 8 E S 5 CL N W W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR MORTON, 0F WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON COMPANY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

KNIFE-HOLDER AND KNIFE FOR CUTTING PILE FABRICS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

Application filed February 24, 1910. Serial No. 545,734.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR MORTON, of Warwick, in the county of Kent and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knife-Holders and Knives for Cutting Pile Fabrics; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The invention relates to a knife-holder and knife for cutting pile fabrics of that class in which the knife enters the race of the fabric and is caused to travel therein either by the movement of the knife with relation to the fabric, or by the movement of the fabric with relation to the knife. The knife-holder may if desired be held in the hand of the operator and the knife used for hand cutting, but said knife-holder is especially adapted for use in a machine in which the fabric is caused to travel through the machine in the form of an endless web or otherwise, and in which the cutting of the fabric is effected by such travel of the fabric with relation to the knife. In pile cutting knives of this character the knife is mounted in a suitable guide which extends some distance beyond the point of the knife, said guide traveling with the knife through the race of the fabric. Said knife-guide is carried by a knife-holder, being usually pivotally mounted on said holder. Means are provided for normally holding the knifeguide and knife against turning on their pivot, the construction being such that, in case the knife-guide and knife should penetrate the back of the fabric, said knife-guide and knife will be released and caused to turn on their pivot to lessen the amount of damage to the fabric.

The object of the invention is to provide iu'nn'oved means for holding and releasing the knife-guide and knife whereby the release of the knife will be more promptly effected and the amount of damage to the fabric correspondingly lessened, at the same time permitting the fabric to be traveled past the knife at a materially higher speed.

To that end the invention consists primarily in the employment of a tripper for tripping and releasing the knife-guide and knife, which tripper is located at some dis tance in advance of the forward end of the knife-holder and well forward toward the point of the knife.

The invention further consists in the employment of an auxiliary tripper adapted to trip and release the knife-guide and knife in case for any reason the main tripper should fail to do so.

The invention further consists in Certain constructions and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a knife-holder with a knife-guide and knife carried thereby embodying the invention and showing the parts in cutting position and with the knifeguide and knife held against turning, the handle end of the holder being broken away. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the opposite side of the structure with the parts likewise in cutting position. Fig. 3 is a front end View of the same. Fig. 4 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 1, and showing the position of the parts in the act of releasing the knife-guide and knife by the primary tripper. Fig. 5 is a corresponding side elevation showing the knife-guide and knife released and turned from their cutting positions. Fig. (3 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the knifeguide and knife as having penetrated the fabric and showing a failure of the main tripper to act. Fig. 7 is a corresponding side elevation showing the position of the parts in the act of releasing the parts by the auxiliary tripper, and Fig. 8 is a corresponding side elevation showing the knifeguide and knife as released by the auxiliary tripper and turned from their cutting positions.

1 represents the knife-holder, which may be provided at its rear end with a handle to be grasped by the hand or with suitable means for mounting the same in a pile cutting machine, said holder being preferably provided with the crook or bend 2. Pivoted to the holder 1 near its forward end is a depending link 3, said link being provided at its upper end with a hub 4: mounted to turn on a stud 5 secured to the holder. At its lower end said link 3 is provided with a hub 6 which forms a bearing for a stud or short shaft 7 rigidly secured to and projecting from the knife-guide 8. This knife guide is U-shaped in cross section and provided with a slot adapted to receive the knife 9.

The free end of the stud or shaft 7 is provided with an annular groove or recess 10 and the head 11 adjacent to this groove is cut away at one side, as shown at 12. Secured to the link 3 is an arm 13, the lower free end of which arm is arranged and adapted to enter the groove 10. This construction furnishes a convenient and efficient means for attaching the knife-guide to the knife-holder and detaching it therefrom. By inserting the stud or shaft 7 in the hub or bearing 6 with the knife-guide turned around from its normal cutting position, and so as to bring the cut away portion of the head 11 in line with the lower end of the arm 13, said head will pass by the end of said arm and then by turning the knife-guide back to its cutting position,

the end of the arm 13 will be caused to enter the groove 10 and the knife-guide will be thereby securely held in place. WVhen it is desired to remove the knife-guide this may be done by simply turning said knife-guide so as to again bring the cut away portion of the head 11 in line with the end of the arm 13.

The hub or hearing 6 at the lower end of the link 3 is provided wit-h an upward projection 14, and secured to the holder 1 is a spring-catch 15, the hook end of which is adapted to engage said projection 14, as shown in Fig. 1, and thereby hold the knifeguide and knife against backward movement under the thrust of the fabric during the cutting operation.

Secured to the hub or hearing 6 and projecting forward therefrom is a latch-arm 16, the free end of which is arranged to normally overlie and engage an arm or abutment 17, as shown in Fig. 1, and thereby positively hold the knife-guide and knife against downward movement or against turning about their pivot. The arm or abutment 17 extends laterally from a bracket 18 adjustably secured to the holder 1, as shown in Fig. 2. Said bracket 18 has a second laterally extending arm 19 arranged to overlie the knife-guide and knife, which said arm 19 serves to prevent upward movement of said knife-guide and knife.

The means for disengaging the catch 15 from the projection 14 and or also disengaging the latch 16 from the arm 17, and thereby releasing the knifeguide and knife, are as follows: Arranged to overlie the knife-guide and knife is a tripper 20 which normally stands in an angular position, as shown in Fig. 1. Said tripper 20 is pivoted to the forward end of an arm or lever 21. Preferably the end of said arm or lever 21 is slotted and with the upper end of the tripper 20 located in said slot. Preferably also the upper end of the tripper 20 is formed at an angle corresponding to the angular rear wall of the slot in the lever 21, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, thereby forming a stop to limit the forward movement of the lower end of said tripper. The spring-catch 15 is provided with an up wardly extending ear 22 which is pivotally connected to the lever 21 by a pin 23. Preferably there are two of these ears 22, one directly in back of the other, with the lever 21 extending between these ears and with the pin 23 extending through both ears and the lever. The rear end of the lever 21 is pivotally connected to the knife-holder 1 by a pin 24 projecting laterally from said holder, said pin 24 projecting through an elongated slot 25 formed in the rear end of the lever 21. Preferably means are provided for adjusting the vertical position of the pivot-pin, and for that purpose said pin, instead of being rigidly secured to the holder, is secured to a block 26, which block is adjustably secured in position on the holder by means of a set screw 27, which set screw and the pin 24 pass through vertical slots in the holder 1. Preferably a spring 28 is employed, one end of said spring being connected to the holder 1 and the other end attached to an eye 29 projecting from the link 3, as shown in Fig. 2. This spring, however, is not essential.

30 represents the fabric.

The operation of the parts above described to trip and release the knife-guide and knife, if the knife should penetrate the back of the fabric, and thereby limit the amount of damage to the fabric, is as follows: 1f the knife-guide and knife should penetrate the back of the fabric, the fabric will, as the knife continues to travel with relation to the fabric, or the fabric with relation to the knife, come in contact with the lower end of the tripper 20 and the further movement of the knife or the fabric, as the case may be, will serve to move said tripper from its normal annular position, as shown in Fig. 1, toward the vertical position shown in Fig. 4. As the lower end of said tripper rests upon the fabric and therefore cannot move downward, the tripper will be forced to move upward. Such upward movement of the tripper will be accompanied by a corresponding upward movement of the forward end of the lever 21, thereby turning said lever about its pivot 24 and raising the springcatch 15 out of engagement with the projection 14, thereby releasing the. knife-guide and knife and permitting backward movement of the same, as shown in Fig. 4. WVhen the spring 28 is employed said spring will act to immediately pull the knife-guide and knife backward, thereby withdrawing the latch 16 from above the arm 17, the link 3 turning on the stud 5 during such movement. When the latch 16 is thus withdrawn from above the arm 17, the knife-guide and knife will be free to turn about their pivot 7 and the backward thrust of the fabric upon the knife-guide and knife will cause the knife-guide and knife to turn about their pivot 7, or rather cause the stud 7 which projects from the knife-guide to turn in the hub 6 of the link 3, thereby bringing the parts into the position shown in Fig. 5. As will be understood, the further movement of the knife or of the fabric will cause the knife-guide and knife to be still further turned, until finally they will be withdrawn entirely from the fabric, leaving only a very small hole therein, but little, if any, larger than the width of the knife-guide and knife. When the spring 28 is not employed the backward thrust of the fabric upon the knife-guide and knife will of itself be sufficient to move said knife-guide and knife backward when the catch 15 has been disengaged from the projection 14 and thereby withdraw the latch 16 from above the arm 17, and there by permit the turning movement of the knife-guide and knife, the further operation being the same as above described. By employing the spring, however, the action will be more or less quickened, and the size of the hole in the fabric may be somewhat lessened.

It is possible that by careless manipulation or otherwise the trippcr 20 might become displaced laterally from its proper posit-ion above the knife guide and knife and so that said trippcr might not be effectually operated by the fabric to trip and release said knife-guide and knife. To guard against this contingency the lower end of the tripper is provided with a cross-pin 31 which projects for some distance on either side of the trippcr, as shown in Fig. 3. If the lower end of the trippcr should thus become laterally displaced, one or the other of the projecting ends of the pin 31 would be brought into such relation with the fabric that the engagement of the fabric with said pin would serve to actuate the trippcr to trip and release the knife-guide and knife. It is also possible that by carelessness of the operator the knife might be put into operation with the trippcr 2O turned backward beyond the vertical into the position shown in Fig. 5, for example, instead of occupying its proper forwardly extending angular position, shown in Fig. 1. To guard against this contingency, as well as any other accidental happening which the cross-pin 31 might not take care of, an auxiliary trippcr is provided which will operate to trip and release the knife-guide and knife if the main tripper 20 for any reason fails to do so. This auxiliary tripper is in the form of a pivoted arm or lever 32 pivoted at 33 between cars 34 secured to and projecting from a lug 35 which extends upwardly from a cross-arm 36, said crossarm extending laterally from a bracket 37 vertically adjustable on the holder 1, as shown in Fig. 2. The auxiliary trippcr 32 is preferably made of considerable width and is slotted or forked to straddle the knife-guide and knife. Said auxiliary tripper is also provided with an upwardly projecting blade the upper end of which is arranged to underlie and engage the lower edge of the lever 21, as shown in Fig. 1. Preferably the lever 21 is provided with downwardly extending cars 39 located one on each side of the blade 38, said ears serving to guide and maintain said blade in proper alinement with the lever 21. The operation of said auxiliary trippcr is as follows: In case the knife-guide and knife should penetrate the back of the fabric, and if for any cause the fabric at the point where the knife has penetrated the same should pass by the lower end of the main trippcr 20 without actuating said trippcr to trip and release the knife-guide and knife, as shown in Fig. 6, the fabric at this point will, by the continued movement of the knife or of the fabric, be brought beneath the auxiliary trippcr 32 and the movement of the fabric under said auxiliary tripper will serve to turn said trippcr upon its pivot, and such turning of the auxiliary trippcr will, through the engagement of the blade 38 with the lower edge of the lever 21, serve to aise the forward end of said lever and thereby disengage the catch 15 from the projection 14-, thus permitting the knifeguide and knife to be pulled backward by the spring 28 or to be thrust backward by the fabric andso as to withdraw the latch 16 from above the arm 17 and thereby permit the turning of the knife-guide and knife, the remaining operation being the same as when the catch 15 is tripped or disengaged by the main trippcr 20.

As will be seen, the lower end of the main trippcr 20 may be and is located a considerable distance in advance of the forward end of the knife-holder and only a comparatively short distance to the rear of the cutting portion of the knife. By reason of this location, in case the knife penetrates the back of the fabric, the fabric will very speedily be brought into engagement with the lower end of said trippcr to actuate the same. Moreover the construction and arrangement of the parts are such that it is the thrust of the fabric against the trippcr rather than the turning of the knife-guide and knife which serves to effect the trip and release of the knife-guide and knife and so that the release of said knife-guide and knife is effected without any turning of said knife-guide and knife in the fabric. It will be further seen that means are provided for positively preventing the knife-guide and knife from turning in the fabric until after they have been tripped .and released and are thereby entirely free to move backward under the thrust of the fabric, as well as to turn about their pivot. There is, therefore, no need of any wedge or similar device for the fabric to act against to effect a turning of the knife-guide and knife, and the turning of said knifeguide and knife is effected without any material strain being brought upon the fabric, thereby avoiding the liability of enlarging the hole in the fabric due to such strain.

By the construction shown and described the tripping action is much more sensitive than in prior constructions, and the knifeguide and knife are more quickly and more certainly released, thereby reducing the amount of damage to the fabric in case the knife should penetrate the back of the fabric. Moreover when the structure is em ployed in connection with a machine in which the fabric is caused to travel by power with relation to the knife, the fabric may, by reason of the quick action of the tripping device, be run with safety and without any increased damage to the fabric at a materially greater speed than would otherwise be practicable, thereby materially reducing the time required for the cutting of the fabric.

lVh-at I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, a catch for holding said knife-guide in operative position, a tripper connected to said catch and adapt-ed to trip the same, and means for supporting said tripper in advance of the knife-holder.

2. The combination, with a knifeholder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, a catch for holding said knife-guide in operative position, a tripper connected to said catch and adapted to be actuated by the fabric to trip the same, and means for supporting said tripper in advance of said knife-holder.

The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife guide in operative position, a pivoted tripper connected to said catch and adapted to be actuated by the fabric to trip the same, and means for supporting said tripper in advance of said knife-holder.

4. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link. and a tripper adapted to disengage said catch.

The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link, and a pivoted tripper adapted to disengage said catch.

6. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link, and a tripper adapted to be actuated by the fabric to disengage said catch.

7. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link, a lever adapted to disengage said catch, and a tripper adapted to operate said lever.

S. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link, a lever adapted to disenga e said catch, and a tripper pivoted to said lever and adapted to operate the same.

9. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link, a lever adapted to disengage said catch, and a tripper adapted to be actuated by the fabric to operate said lever.

10. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife-guide against backward movement, and means for holding said knife-guide against downward movement, the release of said last mentioned holding means being controlled by the release of said first mentioned holding means.

11. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife-guide against backward movement, means for holding said knife-guide against downward movement, and means for releasing both of said holding means.

12. i The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife-guide,

against backward movement, means for holding said knife against downwardmovement, and means adapted to be actuated by the fabric for releasing both of said holding means.

13. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link to prevent backward movement of said knife-guide, and a latch carried by said link and adapted to prevent downward movement of said knife-guide.

14. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link to prevent backward movement of said knife-guide, a latch carried by said link and adapted to prevent downward movement of said knifeguide, and a tripper adapted to disengage said catch and thereby permit the disengagement of said latch.

15. The combination, with a knife-holder,

of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link to prevent backward movement of said knife-guide, a latch carried by said link and adapted to prevent downward movement of said knifeguide, a tripper adapted to disengage said catch, and a spring connected to said link and adapted to withdraw said latch when said catch has been disengaged.

16. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife-guide in o-perative position, a tripper adapted to trip said holding means, and an auxiliary tripper adapted to trip said holding means in case said main tripper fails to act.

17. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife-guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife-guide in operative position, a pivoted tripper adapted to trip said holding means, and an auxillary pivoted tripper adapted to trip said holding means in case said main tripper fails to act.

18. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a knife'guide pivotally connected thereto, means for holding said knife-guide in operative position, a tripper adapted to be actuated by the fabric to trip said holding means, and an auxiliary tripper likewise adapted to be acti'lated by the fabric to trip said holding means in case said main tripper fails to act.

ARTHUR MORTON.

\Vitnesses:

J. H. TIIURSTON, C. G. BRADLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

